Yari Mini-Sub
"We do not allow foreign submarines to enter our territory!" :- Yari Mini-Subs, after sinking a Chinese Kun Ballistic Sub Tactical Analysis * Affordable: Presumably, part of the reason mini-subs are so small is to keep manufacturing costs to a minimum. These are relatively inexpensive, fast-moving scout vessels ill-suited for mainline combat on the seas. However, mini-subs can still be extremely dangerous, especially in large numbers. * Submersible protection: An Imperial mini-sub's greatest defence is their ability to avoid detection while lurking undersea. While submerged, mini-subs cannot be detected by most enemy scanners, nor can they be attacked by most conventional weapons. However, mini-sub torpedoes are not designed to operate under extreme pressures, forcing mini-subs to surface to fire. * Mini-torpedoes a-plenty: Because of their small form factor, mini-subs are not equipped with heavy weapons, although their mini-torpedoes partly make up for a lack of sheer impact-power with a fast firing rate. This makes mini-subs extremely well-suited for hit-and-run attacks. Note that mini-subs cannot defend themselves against land or air targets. * Sonar strike: While formerly equipped with explosives, mini-subs now possess sonar equipment instead. This equipment enables them to reveal any hidden foes in a sizeable radius, which then usually fall prey to their torpedos or the weapons of bigger ships. WWIII Operational History The Empire of the Rising Sun struck at the Soviet Union without warning, and with a seemingly uncanny knowledge of the Union's few coastal vulnerabilities. This foresight must have been partly due to the Empire's Shinobi network, for its hooded assassins have gained a fearsome reputation for procuring sensitive information brutally and reliably. Another theory growing in popularity is that the Empire managed to thoroughly scout northern Europe and Asia from undersea, avoiding detection while relaying essential tactical data back to the Shogunate. These underwater scouting missions were conducted by young sailors operating the Empire of the Rising Sun's Yari Mini-Subs, the smallest submersible combat vessels ever invented. Although these mini-subs initially appear rather nonthreatening due to their size and relatively benign shape, the consequences of their successful scouting reveal them to be a huge threat. It also turns out that Yari mini-subs have fairly significant attack power, and moreover, that the sailors piloting these vessels are prepared to lay down their lives for the Empire of the Rising Sun's ambitions. Although it is rather late for this information to be surfacing from the Soviet Union's perspective, much has been gleaned from the collected remains of multiple Yari Mini-Subs found destroyed off the coast of northern Russia. Having carefully studied the Soviets' submarine program and the capabilities of their enemies' navies, the Emperor's chief naval technicians must have developed the Yari as an inexpensive miniature submarine suitable for reconnaissance and light skirmishing. Each of these vessels is fitted with a pair of mini-torpedo launchers, which, while far less powerful than the torpedoes of a Soviet Akula-class, nevertheless can eventually puncture and sink even the largest vessel (as the Soviet Union unwittingly discovered). Mini-Subs are also virtually undetectable when submerged, which is part of what makes them so dangerous. Also, because they are cheap to manufacture, they can quickly be deployed to support Imperial blockades. While ill-equipped to fend off a complete naval strike group, the Yari mini-sub does have a secret weapon that can make it deadly even to vessels many times its size: Its pilot, loyally bound to his Emperor, is prepared to use his craft in a battering manoeuvre known as the "Last Voyage", which can severely damage even the sturdiest hull. This destroys the Yari Mini-Sub in the process, since the canopy of the Yari has a fail-deadly feature which detonates all the shaped charge torpedoes and the entire mini-sub itself when certain circumstances are met (Editor's Note: This information is outdated. Yari Mini-Subs are no longer used in suicide attacks.) Soviet forces were completely caught off guard in their first encounters against this manoeuvre, which led to the shocking defeat of one of the Union's most notorious Akula wolf packs. The psychology that leads Imperial sailors to be willing to use such a strategy is still being studied carefully, and diametrically-opposing theories abound, with some pundits insisting that mini-sub sailors must be extremely brave while others claim they are driven by fear. Post-War Operational History Due to the sheer volume of experienced Yari operators lost as a result of kamikaze attacks on enemy ships in WWIII, the Shogunate has banned Yaris from ramming enemy ships in an attempt to sink them, and has removed the fail-deadly feature from all subs to discourage unauthorised attempts to do so. Instead, they are now equipped with high grade sonar equipment, which are capable of releasing powerful pings that reveal stealthed enemy units in the vicinity. After all, the Yari was meant to be a scout, not a front line combatant--or, as sailors of the Allied Navy might call them, "Human Operated Suicide Torpedoes", "Crazy Idiots" or simply a stream of expletives in increasing order of regularity. Behind the Scenes * The Yari seems to be based off the real life Kaiten submarine. * The suicide ability was replaced with a sonar pulse for both lore and game-play reasons (everyone kept shouting IMBA). Just the Stats Category:Units Category:Units Originating from Japan